UNILAG Launchs New Digital Humanities Programmes

The University of Lagos, through its Centre for Digital Humanities, has announced the commencement of a suite of postgraduate degree programmes in Digital Humanities.

According to a statement made available to Sunday PUNCH, the programmes, which will kick off in September 2026, offer certificates at the Postgraduate Diploma, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy levels.

Speaking on the inauguration, the Founding Director of CEDHUL, Prof. Tunde Ope-Davies, described the development as both timely and historic.

“For too long, the humanities in Africa have been treated as peripheral to the demands of the digital age. These programmes are our answer to that false narrative.

“We are equipping scholars, researchers, and practitioners with tools to interrogate, interpret, and shape our digital world through African eyes, African frameworks, and African voices. This is intentional. This is strategic. And this is the future we are building,” Ope-Davies said.

He added that the launch aligned with the “Future Ready Agenda” of the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, “whose transformative vision for UNILAG centres on preparing graduates to thrive in an increasingly technology-mediated world.”

According to him, the postgraduate Digital Humanities programmes are a direct institutional embodiment of the VC’s agenda—equipping humanities graduates with digital competencies, analytical skills, and interdisciplinary perspectives demanded by the 21st-century job market across the public, private, creative, and development sectors.

“These programmes are designed for breadth as well as depth. The PGD serves professionals and scholars seeking foundational Digital Humanities training; the M.A. offers a rigorous coursework pathway for emerging researchers and practitioners; the MPhil provides a research-intensive bridge for those advancing towards doctoral study; and the PhD enables original, sustained scholarly inquiry at the frontier of the discipline.

“Collectively, they constitute a comprehensive postgraduate ecosystem unique to this region and calibrated to global standards.

“CEDHUL’s track record lends compelling credibility to this announcement. Supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Commonwealth fellowships, the Centre has produced internationally recognised scholarship, organised capacity-building Summer Schools attended by scholars from across Nigeria and the African continent, and pioneered research in Afro-centred Digital Humanities, digital political discourse analysis, digital ecocriticism, and AI ethics in developing-economy contexts,” the don said.

He added that prospective applicants — whether drawn from linguistics, literary studies, history, cultural studies, communication, library and information science, education, or the social sciences — are invited to look forward to a full prospectus and admissions information to be released in the coming weeks.